Hostage Freed in November Deal Says She Was Held in a Gaza Hospital Before Release

A former hostage of Hamas, Ada Sagi, 75, has confirmed that she was held by kidnappers in a hospital in the Gaza Strip before her release. She was freed from captivity during a week-long truce in November.

Speaking to British media on Wednesday, June 19, Sagi said she was moved between several locations in Gaza during her time there. After 49 days in captivity, Sagi said she was told to her disbelief, “You are going home.”

She was put in a car with other hostages heading to the Rafah Border Crossing with Egypt, but after something went wrong, they were taken to what she believes was Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis. “People say that they are not involved,” Sagi said of the Palestinian hospital staff. “They’re involved… and getting money for each of us.”

The British media outlet published a denial from hospital director Dr. Atef al-Hoot. The IDF carried out a raid against Hamas in the area of the Nasser Hospital in late February, with the military saying that it captured some 200 terror operatives who were holed up at the medical center.

The IDF has operated in hospitals in several instances during the war, offering evidence of their repeated use by Gaza terror groups to stage operations, as well as to hold hostages. Though hospitals are protected sites in war under international law, they lose their protected status if used for military purposes. (TOI / VFI News)

“God, we pray for all the hostages held by Hamas, both former and current, and we ask that You protect their mental and physical health and give them the strength to overcome the immense torture they are facing daily. We pray that the terrorists’ leverage of hospitals and other civilian infrastructure stops. We also pray for the immediate release of all the remaining hostages in Yeshua’s name, in the hope that they will be soon reunited with their loving families.”